The Penguin India Blog

An exhilarating manifesto for the future, Leapfrogging to Pole-vaulting by Dr. R.A. Mashelkar and Mr. Ravi Pandit convinces readers to make the shift from reactive leapfrogging to proactive pole-vaulting through radical transformation. Here are a few pole-vaulting ideas which pose as an example for further development with challenges relating to energy, environment and employment – the 3Es,…

Bhupen Patel in his book, The Anatomy of a Sting allows readers a glimpse into the exciting life of an investigative journalist through these narrative accounts. He has exposed a number of unethical activities during the course of his career, including mental asylums admitting patients without paperwork and investigations as well as illegal agents who…

In eleven sharp, surprising stories, Neel Patel gives voice to our most deeply held stereotypes and then slowly undermines them. His characters, almost all of whom are first-generation Indian Americans, subvert our expectations that they will sit quietly by. Ranging across the country, Patel’s stories-empathetic, provocative, twisting, and wryly funny-introduce a bold new literary voice, one…

Tata. A name synonymous with Indian industry. A name known to Indians for generations. A name acknowledged for adventure and achievement, excellence and ethics, innovation and integrity, perseverance and performance, reformation and responsibility, struggle and success. A name known for salt, software, cars, communications, perfumes, pesticides, tea, trucks, housing, hospitality, steel and gold. A name…

Bhupen Patel’s book The Anatomy of a Sting sheds light upon various types of rackets, from mental asylums admitting patients without proper medical examinations to the extent of uncovering scandals such as, an illegal network network of agents that arrange ‘temporary’ wives for Arab men. Bhupen Patel has led many undercover operations in the course…

Christopher Paolini’s love of fantasy and the natural beauty that surrounds his home in Montana inspired him to begin writing the Inheritance Cycle at fifteen. He became a number one bestselling author at nineteen and spent the next decade immersed in the world of Alagaësia. Here is an interview with him, where he talks about…

The Cambridge Dictionary defines leapfrogging as ‘making improvements to your position by going past other people quickly or by missing out some stages’. By definition, pole-vaulting requires you to go over a bar. In innovation, such bars are set by one’s limited aspirations or by the perceived limitations of current technologies. The core idea of ‘pole-vaulting’…

The Little Book of Comfort is full of happy quotes from Ruskin Bond to help you get through your day. In this adorable little book, Ruskin Bond has jotted down calm and comforting thoughts. Here are some of them: “Go outdoors, it is better to hear the bubul sing, than the mouse squeak.“ ~ “Something attempted…

Magic in Mussoorie takes you into the adventurous world of Nakul and Kuku. Nakul Sahej is a tall, lanky and bespectacled man with a thoughtful and intuitive nature. Nakul usually ends up humouring Kuku and also pulling him out of trouble, something he has to do quite often. A quick thinker, he has an inquisitive…

The river Ganga enjoys a special place in the hearts of millions. In Ganga: The Many Pasts of a River, historian Sudipta Sen tells the fascinating story of the world’s third-largest river from prehistoric times to the present. Here is an excerpt from the first chapter titled The World of Pilgrims Of the many odes written to…